More than 60 basketball teams will compete annually at Convention Center

Thursday, March 20, 2014 · 09:45 am

​The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) recently secured a significant, multi-year contract with the Junior Sports Association, Inc. (JSA) to bring more than 60 basketball teams to Virginia Beach each year over the next three years. The tournaments will bring more than 1200participants to Virginia Beach and generate 1000 room nights. The first tournament, the 2014 JSA Central East Coast Showdown, will take place April 17-20 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The Sports Marketing Sales team, led by Sports Marketing Director Nancy Helman, has been aggressively pursuing new business in niche sports markets and one key emerging market identified was indoor convention center basketball. More than 300 million people worldwide enjoy driving to the hoop. As a spectator sport, competitive basketball can be exciting. As the clock ticks down in a close game, it often comes down to the last shot. Since there are so many dramatic finishes, it is easy for newcomers to become hardcore fans of the game.

“We are thrilled to be hosting the Junior Sports Association in 2014 and we see potential for this event to grow exponentially in Virginia Beach over the contract period,” said Helman. “Our world-class convention center, plus all the amenities our city has to offer, makes this agreement a perfect fit for JSA and for Virginia Beach.”

Sports marketing is a key player in helping to drive Virginia Beach’s tourism industry, and positioning the coastal city as a year-round destination. Each year for the past four years, the Virginia Beach CVB Sports Marketing team has generated an average of 101,500+ hotel room night bookings, the majority of which occur between October and May. By securing this new three year agreement with JSA, the Virginia Beach CVB is positioning itself to capture an even larger share of this rapidly growing market.

JSA is a national organization with a purpose of organizing and promoting youth basketball for the love of the game. Their mission is to provide an opportunity for teams to compete in event competitions that lead to a national championship event in their respective grade/age division.

Where the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay meet, Virginia Beach promises visitors a unique chance to “Live the Life.” Nature at its finest, just-caught and just-picked local food, and toes-in-the-sand relaxation combine for a soul-satisfying experience. A world-renowned boardwalk, energetic downtown, state-of-the-art Convention Center, abundant parks and waterways, and mild weather give rise to an active lifestyle and flourishing local culture. The Virginia Beach CVB is responsible for promoting year-round leisure, business, meetings and conventions, international and sports travel to Virginia’s most populous city. For media information and images, visit www.VisitVirginiaBeach.com/pressroom. Follow Virginia Beach on Twitter at twitter.com/VisitVaBch, Instagram at instagram.com/visitvabeach, Facebook at www.facebook.com/VirginiaBeachVA and Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/visitvabeach.